It means every mile travelled by its vehicles on waste collection rounds, or when staff visit customers in company cars, is officially carbon neutral and generates zero emissions.

The move builds on the success of an initial three-year carbon offsetting programme, which has seen the company support a community reforestation project in rural Uganda.

The certification has been awarded by Natural Capital Partners, in line with the requirements of The CarbonNeutral Protocol – the global standard for carbon neutral programmes.

Not only does this boost the company’s own environmental goals, it also helps customers to minimise their own carbon footprint.

Neil Grundon, deputy chairman, said: “We know that vehicle emissions are a major source of greenhouse gases and, with an extensive road-going fleet, it’s very important to us to consider how we can make a difference.

“By investing in the CarbonNeutral® programme, taking measures such as purchasing environmentally-friendly vehicles and improving driver training, we are very pleased to have achieved our own target of zero emissions.

“And, thanks to positive feedback from our customers, we also know that our commitment is helping them to meet their environmental goals, which is equally important.

“Finally, of course, hearing about the fantastic work which has been achieved in Uganda thanks to our support, makes it all worthwhile.”

Since the programme began in 2014, the Grundon vehicle fleet has travelled an estimated 21,500,000 miles – equivalent to travelling from the UK to Uganda more than 5,300 times.

Emissions from these journeys would be equivalent to those produced from powering more than 15,000 UK homes for a year.

The CarbonNeutral® certification programme, which involves Grundon purchasing high-quality carbon credits in order to offset its vehicle emissions, is focused on encouraging smallholder farmers to plant trees and share best practice.

Thanks to Grundon’s support over the last three years, more than 1,180 farmers have joined the community reforestation project and well over a million trees have been planted.

Benefits for local communities include education on improved farming techniques and alternative crops and products, improving food security, helping to empower women and raise awareness of health and hygiene issues.

To find out more about how Grundon’s CarbonNeutral® certification and the company’s range of waste management services, please visit www.grundon.com